Bay-class minehunter
|Class before=''Ton'' class minesweeper |Class after=''Huon'' class minehunter |Cost= |In commission range=1986-2001 |Total ships planned=6 |Total ships completed=2 |Total ships cancelled=4 |Total ships retired=2 }} |module2= |Ship beam= |Ship draught= |Ship propulsion=2 × Poyard 520-V8-S2 diesel generators; 650 hp(m) (478 kW); 2 Schottel hydraulic transmission and steering systems (one to each hull) |Ship complement=3 officers, 10 crew |Ship sensors='Radar:' Kelvin Hughes Type 1006; I-band Sonar: Atlas Elektronic DSQS-11M; hull-mounted; minehunting; high frequency |Ship EW='MCM:' STN Atlas Elektronic MWS80-5 minehunting system (containerized); ECA 38 mine disposal system with two PAP 104 Mk 3 vehicles; Syledis and GPS precision navigation systems. |Ship armament=2 x remote control mine disposal vehicles 2 x machineguns }} }} The Bay class Minehunter Inshores were a class of catamaran-hull mine warfare vessels operating with the Royal Australian Navy from 1986. Also referred to as the MHCAT (MineHunter CATamaran), the class was an attempt to produce a locally designed inshore mine warfare vessel.Jones, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 222 Two prototype ships were ordered in 1981, with the first ship, Rushcutter, commissioned in November 1986. The two ships experienced delays in construction, and the RAN resorted to acquiring six minesweeper auxiliaries (MSA) under the Craft of Opportunity Program to provide an interim mine-warfare capability, while also keeping Ton class minesweeper [[HMAS Curlew|HMAS Curlew]] in service until 1990, well beyond her intended decommissioning date.Jones, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 252 The ships did not enter service until 1993, due to problems with the sonar.Spurling, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 275 Design and construction One of the identifying features of this class is that vessels have a fibreglass hull constructed with a multi-layer foam sandwich core.Scott, Eleventh International Conference on Composite Materials Bay Class Minehunter Inshore Glass Reinforced Plastic Repair Manual Defence Instruction (Navy) ABR 5803, Royal Australian Navy, July 1992. No metal is contained in the hull. The ships were built by Ramsay Fibreglass, a subsidiary of Carrington Slipways located in Tomago, New South Wales, Australia.Flapan, NSW Ship & Boat Builders They were constructed in a purpose-built facility and then carried by crane a short distance south to be launched into a small man-made launching basin off the Hunter River. Work on a third hull commenced before the project's cancellation, but was never completed and remained at the rear of the facility until the early 2000s. Deployment restrictions The small size of the ships limited their ability at sea, and prohibited deployment outside of the Sydney area. The ships were removed from operational service, and the RAN instead focused on acquiring four to six coastal minesweepers (the ''Huon'' class), and maintaining the MSAs as an as-needed inshore mine-warfare force. Fate Both ships in the class were decommissioned on 14 August 2001.Navy News, Hunters Paid Off Four additional ships, to be named Westernport, Discovery, Esperance, and Melville, were planned but never constructed.Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 85 The two ships were sold in 2002 for service in the Persian Gulf.Wertheim (ed.), The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, p. 23 Citations References ;Books * * * ** ** * ;News articles * ;Websites * Category:Mine warfare vessel classes Bay-class minehunters